Woman accused of robbing school lunch program

March 18, 2005|By Steve Zucker News-Review staff writer

BOYNE CITY - A former Boyne City High School cafeteria cashier is facing federal embezzlement charges accusing her of stealing more than $100,000 from the school's lunch program over a period of five years.

Federal agents arrested Wendy Marie Juday, 43, of Boyne City Wednesday on a federal criminal charge which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, three years supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution.

Authorities said they began the investigation when Boyne City school officials contacted the Boyne City Police Department on June 26, 2004, regarding an apparent ongoing theft of school lunch funds. Boyne City Police officials notified investigators from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which provided nearly $1 million in subsidies for the school's lunch program during the time in question.

Following a joint investigation by the two agencies, a federal magistrate issued an arrest warrant for Juday on Monday. She was arrested at a home in Boyne City Wednesday and was taken to appear for arraignment on the charges in federal court in Grand Rapids.

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According to an affidavit filed in the case by USDA Special Investigator Mark McClutchey, Juday admitted to stealing money from the program in a sworn written statement.

According to excerpts from Juday's statement included in the affidavit, Juday said she began taking money from the cash register within two or three weeks after beginning her employment with the school. She told investigators that she intentionally did not ring up food sales and then pocketed the extra cash later in the day on her way to deposit the money at the bank.

According to the affidavit, Juday wrote in her statement: "The amount I took every day varied depending on what was being served, and ranged from $40 to $80."

Juday told police she used the money to pay for living expenses and gave some to her children to pay for activities.

She also admitted keeping $20-40 that she collected while working the gates at football games, according to the affidavit.

While in her statement to authorities Juday estimated she stole about $60,000, investigators say the amount is likely closer to $106,700.

According to court documents, school officials told police:

- The district's food service department revenue dropped from $30,000 during the 1997-98 school year to about $15,000 the following year. Juday started working for the school in December of 1998.

- During the 2002-03 school year district officials determined that the food service program was losing about $20,000 per year. Investigators said school officials initially blamed the losses on higher food prices and students who were believed to be stealing food.

- After noticing food sales were substantially higher on days when Juday did not work, school officials watched her take payments from students for food and fail to ring them up on the register. The district said sales were between $162 to $88 lower on days Juday was working.

Boyne City Schools Superintendent Jim Cooper said during the 2002-03 school year the district increased prices for it's "ala carte" menu items by about 20 percent. Cooper said the change was made partially in response the then-unexplained deficit and to bring prices for those items in line with what other area school were charging.

Cooper said since Juday's dismissal in February of 2004, the district has made changes to its money handling procedures based upon the recommendations of outside consultants.

Juday has been appointed a federal public defense attorney and has been released on a $50,000 personal recognizance bond. Her next scheduled court appearance is on April 1.